Date: Tue, 2 Nov 1999 20:30:51 +0100
Message-Id: <199911021930.UAA05351@node0911.a2000.nl>
From: Arjan Drieman <duckie@node0911.a2000.nl>
Subject: anacron: Anacron could run jobs at times system load is low.
To: submit@bugs.debian.org

Package: anacron
Version: N/A
Severity: wishlist

Rob Reid, author for The Linux Gazette, wrote a script for use of cron on computers that aren't on very ofen, just like anacron.
(http://linuxgazette.nllgg.nl/issue47/reid.html)

After pointing Rob at anacron, he wrote me:

> I prefer groundskeeper, since it optimizes a slightly different criterion:

> groundskeeper will make sure that the commands are run at convienient times 
> for the users as closely to the specified intervals as machine uptime permits.

> i.e. batch puts the job off until the CPU is able to handle it without
> disrupting whatever the users are doing in the foreground.  Anacron's only
> advantage over groundskeeper is that if the computer is only on for a time
> less than groundskeeper's check interval (say, a laptop on the subway going 
> into work) it would run the jobs while groundskeeper would miss its chance.
> But if I turned on a computer for such a brief period, I probably WOULDN'T
> want it to spend that time doing cron jobs.

He has a good point. Maybe something like this could be implemented in anacron?

-- System Information
Debian Release: potato
Kernel Version: Linux node0911 2.2.13 #1 Fri Oct 22 06:19:49 CEST 1999 i486 unknown